Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Can the police search my car without a warrant?”
One federal court judge issued an important opinion recently that will help to counter the federal government’s attempt to comb through the emails and other online actions of Americans. What is even more surprising about the case is that the judge specified that restrictions should be imposed even as part of specific criminal investigations.
Magistrate Judge David Waxse took the unusual step of denying a governmental search warrant request according to a recent Yahoo article. According to news reports, law enforcement officials had asked for permission to access all emails, instant messages, chat records and other online communications from a range of popular online companies for a group of people the government believed were involved in stealing computer equipment from Sprint. The warrant asked for permission to sift through Google, Yahoo, Verizon, Skype and GoDaddy records for the group of suspects, a request that could potentially yield massive amounts of evidence against the suspected wrongdoers.
Rather than simply rubber stamp the warrant request, Judge Waxse said he was disturbed. Waxse said that the request represented an enormous overreach on the part of federal authorities and was in no way narrowly tailored to target information relevant to the alleged computer theft. Instead, Waxse said that the request was similar to if the government had asked the post office to turn over any and all mail that was ever sent or delivered to a certain person. The request would allow investigators free rein to poke through a person’s most private correspondence, much of which would have nothing to do with the crime in question.
Thankfully, recent reforms have helped stem the rising tide, and between 2008 and 2010 the total number of people with criminal records actually fell by one percent. How does that happen? Thanks to efforts by lawmakers to create new ways for people to erase and expunge their old criminal records. Recent efforts which allow adults to expunge first-time nonviolent misdemeanor crimes or low-level felony convictions have helped allow some people to clear their records and pave the way for a better future.
Prior to passage of the law, students were only allowed to have an attorney informally advise them. Lawyers were generally barred from presenting evidence during the hearings, cross-examining witnesses or in any way representing the student during the disciplinary actions.
According to authorities, three men hiked off into the woods in rural Caldwell County over the weekend. Late Monday night the local sheriff’s office received a 911 call from Sonny Hyatt, who told dispatchers he and his two friends, Thomas Imler and Eric Schmidt, were lost in the woods. Authorities tracked down Hyatt using the GPS coordinates in his cellphone and rescued the three men.
The panel of three judges decided Tuesday that North Carolina’s 2008 law on the subject, the “Protect Children From Sexual Predators Act” is too vague. The panel noted that the law broadly denies sex offenders the right to participate in a wide range of online activities without any attempt to explain how the blanket ban protects others.
Experts say that detectives have begun cracking cases thanks to the technology that links mug shots with pictures pulled off of various social networking websites. Beyond just social networking sites, the facial recognition unit also combs pictures collected from a vast network of surveillance cameras.
Police say they pulled over Rigoberto Gomez-Contino early Tuesday morning as part of a routine traffic stop along Highway 321 in Lincolnton. After pulling over Contino, they asked for permission to search the vehicle where they discovered a suspiciously out of place blue teddy bear in the backseat. A quick inspection of the bear uncovered three ounces of methamphetamine hiding inside the stuffed animal. Police then arrested Contino and booked him on drug charges.
Police initially said that David Worley was involved in a single-car crash on Ray Road when he ran off the side of the road and was thrown from the car after it flipped several times. Police attributed the crash to Worley’s speeding. However, authorities now say the accident was not the cause of the man’s death, but instead wounds that were inflicted on him earlier that afternoon by his wife.
Police in Albemarle, NC say they have arrested Way after he was accused of sex crimes connected with children from a Baptist church located in Stanly County. The sexual contact is alleged to have taken place in late June at the North Carolina Baptist Assembly in Fort Caswell.
Police say the accident was thankfully not at a high rate of speed, but did cause injuries to the child. Witnesses have revealed that the child was dragged nearly 45 feet before the young driver stopped her car. The child suffered a concussion as well as some cuts and bruises, but is expected to be fine.